The present invention relates generally to coin changer devices that receive and evaluate deposited money and return change in coins and, more particularly, to a coin changer device with a random access coin storage and dispensing mechanism that accepts and returns change for a large number of different types of coins.
Coin changers are commonly used in vending machines for drinks, snack foods, cigarettes, stamps, and so forth, in ticket machines, in change machines used in arcades and other amusement venues, and so forth. Also, coin changers are often used in combination with bill changers that receive and evaluate paper currency.
In the known prior art, coin changers typically include a mechanical or electronic coin sorter for evaluating the type of coin that has been deposited by a user. The evaluated and sorted coin is then routed and placed in a tube or stack of like coins. Such prior art coin changers are generally limited to having three or four tubes of specific denominations. For example, in the United States such a coin changer might have tubes containing stacks of nickels, dimes, quarters and halves or whole dollar coins.
One drawback to such coin changers is that they are typically each limited to a single currency. Accordingly, different versions of the coin changers are required for different countries owing to the difference in sizes of the various denominations from one country to the next. For example, at a border between two countries, such a coin changer would typically be set up to accept the coins of one country, but not the other.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need yet remains for a coin changer apparatus which is flexible and adaptable enough to accept large numbers of different types of denominations and even different currencies at the same time, while still being able to make change effectively. It is to the provision of such a coin changer apparatus that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, in a first preferred form the present invention comprises a coin changer apparatus having a random access coin storage and dispensing device. The random access coin storage and dispensing device includes a plurality of individual coin stalls, each of which is adapted for containing one or more coins of variable size and denomination. An electronic controller is provided for noting how much coin value is stored in each of the individual coin stalls and for, when change is to be made, selecting which stalls are to be emptied in order to dispense the selected amount of change.
Preferably, the random access coin storage and dispensing device comprises one or more carousels having radially arranged coin stalls. Most preferably, a plurality of these carousels are arranged in a staggered, overlapping arrangement, so that coins can be passed from one carousel to the next. The coin stalls are sized to receive one or more coins of any denomination in current or likely future use in any country. Also, the random access coin storage and dispensing device includes drives for rotating the carousels to position the desired coin stalls for coin transfer, and coin transfer mechanisms with transfer gates to move to the coins from one stall to another.
This arrangement allows coins of various sizes and denomination to be placed randomly in storage, while noting the denomination and type of coin in each coin stall for later retrieval. Thus, the coin changer to be used at borders between countries and to accept denominations from more than one country. This also allows for a large variety in the size of the various coins to be accepted. In the prior art, typically the tubes are designed to handle only a specific diameter of coin, while the individual coin stalls used in the random access coin storage and dispensing device of the present invention allow for a virtually limitless number of individual coin sizes, limited only by the maximum size of a coin that can fit in the coin stall.
Advantageously, the present invention does not require a different coin changer to be manufactured for each individual country""s unique denomination set. Moreover, should a country or locale change their coin set, as is happening in Europe with the introduction of Euro coinage, the present invention allows for new coin sets to be accepted without requiring new hardware configurations.